For official purposes, poverty is determined by the US government according to whether a family's gross income falls below a particular threshold, which is in turn determined by changes in the CPI (Consumer Price Index).
Because the quality of life for someone who is slightly above their threshold might not be significantly different than that of someone slightly below their threshold, it may be more helpful to look at the income-to-poverty ratio, which "gauges how close a family's income is to their poverty threshold" (Poverty: 2008 and 2009, US Census Bureau) For example, a ratio below 1.00 indicates that a family is below their official poverty threshold.
"Official" definition of poverty
For official purposes, poverty is determined by the US government according to whether a family's gross income falls below a particular threshold, which is in turn determined by changes in the CPI (Consumer Price Index).
Because the quality of life for someone who is slightly above their threshold might not be significantly different than that of someone slightly below their threshold, it may be more helpful to look at the income-to-poverty ratio, which "gauges how close a family's income is to their poverty threshold" (Poverty: 2008 and 2009, US Census Bureau) For example, a ratio below 1.00 indicates that a family is below their official poverty threshold.